Indias Power Ministry Wants Solar Duties Reversed

Published By : 24 Jun 2014 |Published By : QYRESEARCH

The power ministry of India is lobbying to revoke a proposal that will see import duties being levied on solar equipment being imported from the U.S. and other Asian countries. Levying tariffs on these products would damage Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s endeavors to give solar power a boost in the country.

India’s Power Minister Piyush Goyal said that his ministry has requested the ministry of finance and ministry of commerce to reconsider the proposal. He said that in the current scenario, India lacked adequate manufacturing capacity that would guarantee a support to the country’s solar energy plans. The tariffs that range from 11 cents from 81 cents were proposed by the previous administration. If brought into effect, these levies could double the prices of panels imported from China, Malaysia, Taiwan, as well as the United States.

Nearly 80% of India’s photovoltaic capacity has been built using panels imported from the countries mentioned earlier, said Bridge to India Energy Pvt. Ltd, a private consultancy based in New Delhi. According to India’s Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, domestic manufacturers are not in a position to supply the number of solar cells that would be required to increase solar power by four times over the next three years. In the meanwhile, India’s transport minister Nitin Gadkari also warned his commerce ministry counterpart that these proposed duties would mean a 100% rise in the cost of solar power. These duties are due to be implemented by August 22 by the Ministry of Finance. These price hikes were recommended just four days before PM Modi’s administration was formed.

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